


Gods and War

by Lady_Kaie



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Adult Content, Alternate Universe, Ancient World Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Boys In Love, Brothels, Consensual Underage Sex, Curvy Reader, Death, Dismemberment, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, First Love, First Meetings, Fluff and Smut, Foursome - F/F/M/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, Killing, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Virginity, Love at First Sight, M/M, Multi, Not current setting with modern laws, Other, POV First Person, Prostitution, Smut, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threesome, Threesome - F/M/M, War, War time, mentioned rape, more tags to come, so many more that I have absolutely forgot or just don't know how to tag!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:47:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28367142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Kaie/pseuds/Lady_Kaie
Summary: A tale of war time on Eos and how a small brothel made a difference.  The Prince of Lucis and his crownsguard sealed their fate the day they went to Ophella's Manor upon a visit to discuss an alliance with Accordo's Queen.  Here are the escapades of Prompto, Aranea, Nyx, and yourself as you survived impossible childhoods and danger at every corner with laughter and comraderie that bound you together as a family.Warning:  Explicit scenes of an underage reader (15) and Aranea (20) in the beginning.Very mature themes of sex and war times are prevelant throughout.  If I have forgotten to tag something do not hesitate to let me know.
Relationships: Aranea Highwind/Reader, Gladiolus Amicitia/Aranea Highwind, Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia, Ignis Scientia/Reader, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Nyx Ulric, Prompto Argentum & Reader, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum/Nyx Ulric
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reader POV

There’s a lot of things that I have learned in this life, but perhaps only four are true.

War cripples everyone…. even those who are foolish enough to believe they have the power  
Men are fools and cannot be trusted with valuables  
Sex is the highest form of currency the world has to offer.  
Love is for fools

Now, the first one I learned at a young age and was forced to witness throughout primary developmental years.

It all started when our small home became a primary hotspot for soldiers on both fronts to lay in wait for the other side. IT was a poor, rural farming community that boasted no richness and therefore little to no resistance. The soldiers could come and go as they pleased and no one could stop them.

So they moved in and out, raped our lands and our people, before going back to their plush surroundings high in tall towers where bombs would never fall.

Unlike how they fell around us. In the dark of the night my mother would wake me and drag me half awake to the safe room down in the basement beneath the main room of our shack. Too many times to count we would resurface to find our walls blown in or utterly destroyed.

But, like the gluttons for punishment we were, instead of moving, in the morning we would rise and spend days repairing the haphazard homes around us and our own.

Those were hard times, and yet, I look back at them fondly despite remembering the nights we went hungry or a stranger waltzed into our home and my mother had to chase him out with her shotgun to keep him out of our beds.

At one point it became far too dangerous to live alone, and since she was a widow, it was even more dangerous. Therefore her best friend who had lost her own husband to the war, came to live with us and my eternal friendship with Prompto Argentum began.

Somehow, someway, the two of us were naturally plump infants which would have left many to think that our parents were wealthy. Both of us knew better, but still we stayed robust and moderately healthy because while our mother’s were not rich, they did know how to cook.

And they knew how to steal.

That’s where my second life lesson came in.

Men were idiots! Absolute and utter idiots! From the age of five to seven, Prompto and I watched these rich soldiers find comfort with our mothers and boy, were they ever robbed blind. What was worse, they didn’t even know it. Our parents had gotten so good at their craft that they could sned even the richest and most glorified warrior to the poor house. And he went happily.

It wasn’t until I was older that I realized what it was our mother’s were doing to provide for us and the rest of the town. It also wasn’t until I was older that those who didn’t agree with their methods opened up our walls to the enemy and made Prompto and I orphans.

That night when the sirens rang and the bombs began to fall over our small patch of Eos, I knew that we would not be the same once everything had come to pass. And we weren’t.

Huddled together in the dark basement without our mothers, Prompto and I waited three days for someone to dig us out, but no one came. When we dug ourselves out after a week of hard work, we found out why.

The place where our town once stood had been razed to the ground. All around us, nothing stood higher than a matchstick, and the only sign of life that we could see for miles were the charred and burned bodies of the fallen. Our mothers were among them, but Prompto and I never went looking because neither of us wanted such a memory to stay with us.

Knowing that survival was paramount and we would not find it here, the two of us packed up bags and headed toward Altissa where there was another small town just before the grand city we had heard about in stories. The resting place of Leviathan, many declared that she had blessed Altissa and even the Niflheim warriors were afraid to tread on the hallowed ground that the Goddess had claimed as hers.

Everyone knew of LEviathan’s wrath and no one, not even those fool hardy Niffs would test it. So inward we went toward the towering capital that struck fear into the hearts of even the most evil fearless creatures. Making sure to travel by night and to sleep by day so that we could avoid soldiers, Prompto and I never did reach Altissa.

Instead, we stopped at the ferry town of Siren, named for the mermaids that supposedly confused weary sailors and steered them away from Altissa’s shores where Leviathan rested, which is where we found our forever home.

And that is where I learned my third lesson in life. Which is that sex will buy you anything. Granted it took a bit of time, even if it was right in front of us day in and day out.

Now, in all technicality, this is a lesson of a lifetime, that many of us are still perfecting, however, it wasn’t a hard concept to consider when it was presented so blatantly in our faces even if our Mistress was trying to shield us from the injustices and ugly parts of the world. Of course she hadn’t been able to, but we loved her for trying.

That night when we found her, had been cold, and we had just run out of food, so when we came upon the little farming village just outside of Siren, we didn’t waste time in hunting down the bare necessities. Eventually, Prompto and I had come upon a rather grand home, or at least it had been in its heyday, with a wrap around porch and tall marble pillars around the entire structure. Normally I would have been petrified out of my mind by such finery, but there was something that promised safety amongst her walls. She, the house, as I Liked to call her because she had her own personality and it felt like a sultry, cunning woman, called us closer to bask in the peace of her large shadow and that night Prompto and I fell asleep in the tomato patch beneath the stars after gorging ourselves on the rich fruit. Despite the chill in the air, we were able to burrow into the soft earth and curl up beneath our tattered blanket that had followed us from our destroyed home.

For the first time in all of our travels, we were safe. Our gentle spector was protecting us and sent her mistress the next morning to retrieve us from the cold ground that had been the most comfortable bed we had ever known. Being woken up by a stranger had terrified poor Prompto, and when he screamed, I jolted from the earth, covered in dirt and went to defend my best friend. I’ll never forget the look on Mistress’ face. Her massive brown eyes went wide as she caught me and I had been expecting the fight of my life, but she wrapped me up in her wirey arms and soft floral scent and the fight in me faltered. Something was promising me that I was safe…

And both Prompto and I have been. That knowledge had been further solidified the moment I stepped inside of, Ophella’s walls, why her name is Ophella I do not know, it's just what spoke to me, I knew that I was home. Perhaps it was my mother’s spirit leading us there? Or one of the Gods took pity on two innocent children, but whatever the case was, I have never begrudged the blessing.

In those early days, I could only hope that our stay would be for longer than the seven years I called our small village home. Prompto adapted rather quickly, but didn’t go far from my side because he was not always a fan of new things or people. A Lot of soldiers had taken interest in him because he was soft, and terribly naive, but here, our new Mistress, wouldn’t allow him to be taken advantage of.

Having that knowledge made this home even safer in my eyes and over the next several years, I lived with a new set of rules and outlook about life. Hard work, hospitality and loyalty were key. These were the foundations of what Mistress taught us. We worked the land and the house hard, we were loyal to those in the house, and our hospitality was extended only so far as to serve those of us who called Ophella home.

This had been enough for me, it gave me purpose and direction. Over the years, hardwork and loyalty took on a new meaning, and the concept of hospitality never infringed on that unless we brought someone new into the fold. It wasn’t until I was fifteen that I realized what was happening inside of Ophella’s walls, and the fact that I had already witnessed my mother doing these things.

You see, our Mistress really wanted to keep us as pure as she could, but who was she kidding? We had already seen plenty that a normal kid shouldn’t see. We had learned things that a normal child shouldn’t learn.

Taking from gentleman callers when they were passed out or ‘passed out’. Passed out was her nice term for saying that they had been drugged and therefore were easy to take advantage of because they never remembered what happened after their dose and were dropped out in one of the ditches along the main road.

There were of course the schemes we ran, Prompto and I, where we would go see the soldiers moving through the area. All of the kids would get together, creating elaborate stories and tales to entertain them with, while the others slipped through the ranks and picked them clean. Not of everything, just enough that they wouldn’t be suspicious. It had been such a lucrative endeavor until I was caught.

That’s when I first met her. A gorgeous young woman of fifteen, schooled in the ways of the world, and who had spent her childhood traveling it. Aranea Highwind. To my young, ten year old eyes, she was a vision cloaked in black with bright jade green eyes and long silver hair. An ethereal Goddess born of pure starlight, and oh how I worshipped her. Even when she cursed me and kicked me into the mud for daring to trifle with her, I was completely smitten.

And that interest didn’t taper off like I had hoped, because how could it have when she grew up in front of my eyes and broke free from the wounded shell of a wanderer who owns nothing and belongs to no one. Now she belonged to Ophella.

And me.

Gods! She was gorgeous and I was the fool who thought foolishly that I could tame such a wild spirit, but it was all fun while it lasted. Especially when I worked up the nerve to approach her and bare my heart. And my lust. The things I learned that summer…

The memories I will forever cherish even now that I am grown and married off to the man I adore above all else. Aranea had always been my first love, and greatest teacher.

It was in my fifteenth year that she finally gave in to all of my flirting and insistence, much to my surprise. Now, I had known that she would turn me away because Mistress said that Prompto and I were off limits, so I was prepared for a knock down drag out fight when she surprised me entirely by welcoming me into her private chambers on a warm, lazy summer evening. She dragged me into her room through her will alone, shut that door, and taught me the ways of men in the dark of night. Taught me about my body and how glorious letting go could feel...

She was also the first one to let me open my eyes to the world around me. Through her, I finally was able to understand the past fifteen years of my life and what I had been seeing.

Rape, sex, and stealing were just normal scenarios that one could encounter in every day life, most of which Ihad been fortunate to avoid. But Aranea took all of the danger out of the world and made it seem like she could control everything with but a single crook of her fingertip.

And heavens could she.

I was absolutely enamored with her and jealous of the men she would lead into her room, draped in silk with that long, flowing silver hair of hers caressing the curve of her breasts. She was smooth from neck to toe, nothing out of place on her sculpted musculature and women and men alike took notice. When I was in the midst of those precarious teen years, she was already nearing twenty and was the most popular girl in all of the house. She was a woman and I wanted to be just like her.

Ophella’s Manor was the name of the brothel, which Mistress had gotten from me when she decided to officially open and take in ‘stray’ women and men who had nowhere to go. Beneath Mistress’ roof, we created a haphazard family and somehow it worked.

Even when people overstepped their boundaries.

Considering the fact that Prompto and I were basically replacement children for Mistress’ lost twins, we were off limits to everyone in the house. But I knew that Aranea wouldn’t be able to resist me, especially if I put out the signals that I was interested.

And I did. As innocently as I could, because she loved to take innocent little creatures and mold them into her personal pets. I wanted to be one of those pets she kept in her bed and petted all through the night. To lose myself in her kisses and the softness of her curves until I was writhing in blissful agony from her touch alone. I had fallen asleep listening to the sounds of her with her lovers and always begged the question, what would it feel like to know such pleasure?

The night she taught me I knew that I would never be the same. I also knew that she was not my destined love from LEviathan, and while it hurt, I did have the satisfaction of knowing that for a time, she was mine. And I was hers.

I had snuck into her room in the middle of the night when the house was quiet and the only light glowing were the small flames of our walking candles, mine in hand and hers on her bedside table. Naked as the day she was born save for a few of her favorite baubles that her lovers had given her with a slip of lace draped over her shoulders for what, I had no idea? To me anything that graced Aaranea’s silky skin was a decoration and nothing more. Nothing made her more beautiful…

Absolutely nothing could.

“I was wondering what was taking so long.” A statement from her painted red lips and nothing more, because she was the puppet master, and my strings were in her hands to be pulled. She knew why I had taken my time.

“You know I had to wait until Mistress was gone.” I snarked back, trying to sound unaffected by her beauty, but it was futile. I was beyond eager to rub up against her and try to uncover her secrets.

Uncrossing her legs to give me a full view of her luscious expanse, my eyes widened and I came immediately to her invitation, sliding up through the part of her legs to rest against her. She was softer than I could have imagined, and I let my eyes roll back in my head to enjoy her.

“Show me what you’ve got kid.” Her words woke up something in me that I had no idea was there. A beast of lust…

“Really?” I gazed down into her twinkling green orbs and when she pulled me down to offer me a kiss, I was a goner.

The tip of her taunting tongue lavished all around my lips before she slid it deep within the recesses of my mouth and trailed it all around. Not once did her mouth close around mine as I lay suspended above her, letting her paint the moist cavern of my mouth with naughty brush strokes. I groaned when she coaxed my own tongue into her mouth and slowly began to suck.

That was all it took. That simple, easy action, and I was at her mercy. Breaking free of her mouth, I pressed open mouthed kisses around all that I could reach, nipping and sucking to find the right range of pressure she enjoyed but it was as I reached her bountiful breasts and closed my teeth around a dark dusky nipple, that she rewarded me with a firm hair pull.

“That’s it sweet girl… such a good mouth. So soft and good for me…” She groaned out as I switched nipples and began to suck with long languid pulls. She also enjoyed this immensely. “Got me all hot and bothered already…”

What an honor and a privelage to hear such praise! “You are pleased?” I murmured around the perked bud in my mouth, releasing her from the prison to taste the rest of the pillowed orb she sat perched upon.

“Very pleased.” Aranea’s eyes lit with desire and it was all for me.

Encouraged to continue despite my naivety, the exuberance I felt from her kind words made up for any lacking talent, and when I reached the gates of her bare womanhood, I approached her with like a warrior going off to battle.

She was soft and pink here, curved and full in a way the rest of her lacked, and Gods above I finally understood why all of her lovers kept coming back. I was also determined to make my mark upon her gates and leave them wishing for me when someone else came to pay their respects.

Taking what I knew, I trailed my lips lightly against the swollen flesh and just when she grunted a command, did I part my lips and slide my tongue through her wet heat. Honeydew at the peak of ripeness coated my tongue and I gorged myself on it. Her legs looped over my shoulders and her screams filled the night air as she came unglued beneath me.

It was in the aftermath where I expected to be tossed from her bed and was going to beat her to the order, when she drew me up into her arms and kissed my forehead. “That was incredible my sweet. You shall have your reward soon…”

And did I ever.

All that summer I met her for late night rendezvous’, snuck kisses in the hallways, and volunteered for each and every trip Mistress required of us just so I could be lavished with Aranea’s presence.

I felt like a woman at long last, and she treated me as one. I was no child in her eyes and even when she had to punish men as an adult would be punished, I appreciated her through the anger.

ARanea did not coddle me, and I never asked her to.

Though she always made up for it.

IT was shortly after harvest when one of her regulars had gone after a week in her bed, that she came calling to my private chambers that were shared with Prompto. She gave him one look that clearly demanded privacy before uttering, “Out.”

“No. Stay Prompto.” I bit off with venom on my tongue, glaring at the audacity she had to waltz into my room and order someone out of it. This was my domain. Not hers.

Prompto on the other hand didn’t know what to do and was absolutely paralyzed with fear. Aranea made the decision for him. Grabbing his upper arm, she dragged the poor blond to the door and slammed it in his face before turning to me. “You dare to defy me?” Her tone was dangerous but I was looking for the fight.

“I dare whatever I please.” Clambering to my feet and pushing out my chest in challenge, I stalked right up to her and took the hard slap she gave me. Cheek stinging and turned on beyond belief, I all but melted as she wrapped her hands into my hair and drew my ear up to her mouth.

“He was a job. Nothing more. It does not suit you to pout. Do I not always return to your bed? Do I not always take care of you? Would you deny me licking that beautiful pussy after having missed her for nearly a week? Do you truly think that I prefer him to your soft, robust body?” Aranea didn’t believe in love, but affection was something else entirely. Sex was her profession, but the tenderness she shared with me was something precious and just between us two.

“Nea…” I gasped as she latched onto my ear and bit down hard on the lobe before I was released and pushed to my bedding.

“Don’t beg. Tell me what you want. I have wronged you and I will earn my way back into your arms. Make me earn it.” her lips curved into the most debauched smile I had ever seen and every inch of my body stood at attention just thinking about the possibilities she was giving me permission for.

I started out slow. “Are you sorry?” I asked, trying to feign interest.

“Very.” She murmured, letting her robe slide to the floor. Naked save for the arm and thigh bands made of pure gold that I had saved all summer for, she slid to her knees and licked my bent knee. “You know I miss you. You know I dream of you when their mouths are buried between my thighs. No one gets me off the way you do…”

“Appealing to my vanity?” How lewd. How utterly delicious.

Her grey brow twitched upward in jest, “Offering you worship. I’ve missed that mouth, sweet girl. I want it upon me. I want to put mine upon you and make you come until you can’t take anymore. Allow me to please you…”

The Gods knew I wanted to drag out the play, but I was still a girl playing a kept woman, and I stood no chance against Aranea’s seduction. So my legs fell open and her mouth found my folds in a full mouthed kiss just as her fingertips reached and pinched at my bare nipples that had slid free of the nightgown draped over me. “Nea…” I whimpered, rolling into her face and already on edge because how could I not be when her torture was so perfect.

“That’s it my girl.. Feel good for me. Let me lick you until you come… keep saying my name.”

And I did. I did until my mouth couldn’t form words and I was a mere mass of trembling nerves in her arms. Once more she came to me, kissing my forehead and holding me close as I nuzzled into her warmth. “I have a gift for you?”

“Really?” Something pretty? Suddenly very alert, I sat up when she left to retrieve her robe and pulled out a beautiful box where, cushioned inside upon a bed of velvet, laid a set of tools and two gorgeous sea diamond studs. Sea diamonds were a perfect blue black like the deepest depths of the sea, but when they were struck by sun or moonlight, they turned clear with light blue tones rippling through their surface. Some said that these were Leviathan’s tears.

Whatever was the truth of their origin, they were a precious stone to the people of Accordo and very very rare. Meaning they were expensive. Aranea beamed with pride as I gazed at them in wonder. “For my sweet girl. I spent my whole week’s wage with my client on them.”

“For me!” That was a show of love if I had ever seen one.

But Aranea acted like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Of course for you. I had to get my girl something as gorgeous as she was.” Motioning for me to lay down, she bent over my breasts and began to lightly suck on one of my nipples. “I have to leave you something to remember me by always.”

“And what about you?”

Wicked jade peered up at me as she prepared her sterilized needle teeming with magic, holding me in thrall through the pain that came next and lingered even after one thick post made a new home within me. She licked lightly and sucked away the tenderness before replying. “You gave me your first time. That is all the gift I need.”

I would find out later that Aranea had not been given the choice to give her innocence away and therefore, it was very precious to her. She knew that I would not stop until I had her, so instead of fighting it, she met me head on and took my offering with grace. To this day it is something she looks back upon as one of her best moments in this life. As do I.

The second nipple was pierced and tended to and once more we were swept up in our lust as we touched and kissed the night away until early morning sent us to sleep.

She might not have been my forever love, but she was the one that claimed my heart first and prepared it for the next to come.

If Aranea was the storm that wreaked havoc on my life…

Then Ignis Scientia was the mighty Leviathan herself coming to claim me.

And claim me he did.

Between Aranea and Ignis I learned that love was for fools, and by the Gods I was as foolhardy as one could get. But I never apologized for it because they never wanted me to. My family never wanted it...

The year Ignis found me I was twenty years old and still so young but the love he evoked in me was aged by the Gods and molded by starlight to last for an eternity.

I was now and forever his fool.


	2. Prompto and Nyx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto's memories and his attachment to Nyx.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompto's POV

The world has always been scary to me no matter if i’m stuck in the middle of a war zone, or hidden away safely in the attic with you, my best friend. How you got us through those terrible days of travel after our village was burnt to the ground, I’ll never know, but I’ll never forget your voice pulling me out of a hopeless sleep to drag me just a little bit further down the line.

Even after we found our forever home, as you called it, that fear and panic didn’t dwindle except for when I was in your arms. Well into our adult years and all of those years of wars and finding lovers that we never should have entertained, being by your side was all I needed to be alright.

How I loved you then, and how I love you still! Even with the children and marriages weighing down our lives in blissfully full and heavy ways, I need you. I need my family. 

“Prom.” You call out from the hallway before your slightly greyed head peaks inside of my room where I’m curled up in front of the fireplace with my sleeping King in my lap.

“Ssshhh… he’s sleeping.” I point to a mass of black hair and furrowed features that are burrowing into my thigh to escape the light. 

“Was sleeping.” Noctis grunts as he slings his arms around my waist and looks up to you and now Ignis who has joined us. “Doesn’t the King of Accordo have other things to do?”

“You mean other than to disturb the King of Lucis? No.” He’s cheeky as he says it, “No I do not believe so.” 

“Nor does the Queen of Tenebrae.” Luna chimes in with Nyx in tow looking sleep logged and unimpressed to have been dragged out of bed on this, the eve of the war’s end a long five years ago. Each night our Kingdom’s come together and celebrate in the old manor that is now a shelter for orphaned children and manned by a few of the older women Mistress had taken in during the war. The manor is in yours and my name as Mistress’ will had demanded, but I am only able to see it a few times a year.

Nothing has changed save for the paint on the outside of Ophella’s grand structure, but inside she still feels the same. I can hear the memories in the fibers of the walls and when I close my eyes I can see you crawling across the length of our shared room until you nuzzle into my arms and we both fall fast asleep.

No matter if you had just returned from Aranea’s, you always came to me. It was the only way we could sleep until Noctis and Ignis arrived. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of our childhood that was nowhere near easy, but easily less complicated than what we lived now. Not that any of us would change it for all of the gold upon our star. 

When Noctis realizes that he isn’t going to get any sleep as Aranea and Gladiolus waltz into the attic where I once called home, and pull out a glorious bottle of Leiden champagne. They have the best fruit groves in all of Eos. “Gods bless you.” I whisper into Aranea’s ear as she bends to kiss me, which earns me a firm hit from my disgruntled King.

He shall not escape the drinks this night and he knows it!

Nor shall he escape the memories that start to flow amongst Aranea, Nyx, you and myself.

“Tell us of Nyx’ arrival again, Prompto.” Luna beseeched me with those adorable blue eyes of hers and there’s not a doubt in my mind as to how she ensnared Nyx’s damaged heart. I give my friend a glance and see that he is resigned to fate before falling into the tale we have heard multiple times.

*****

Mistress arrived with Nyx after one of her travels when I was around thirteen. At that point in time he was naught but a teeny tiny pup made of fur and bones and none of us had any clue that his true form was a human one.

The day he arrived was a warm spring day with the scent of rain on the air, but you and I were outside in our under clothes enjoying the first real day of sunshine for weeks. Your body was starting to bloom into womanhood with rounded curves and a slight flare to your breasts, while I was gangly as ever and littered in freckles. In my eyes you were gorgeous. Always have been. 

“We are going to have to work on that garden tomorrow.” You reminded me from your sprawled out position in the grass beside me. It was still damp from the morning dew but that coolness felt great on my heated skin. Tender fingertips trailed over the top of my freckled hand, reaching and pawing until I gave in and took up your hand with my own. There were few moments in time when we weren’t hand in hand while together This was our safety blanket when once we had nothing but the clothes on our backs and hope in our hearts. 

“True. The plants from the farmer need to be moved before they start to get too big.” We had put off our annual spring job for close to a week because there had been too many storms and cooler temperatures that would have killed the plants. With the sunshine as it was while we laid beneath her warmth, the colder days were undoubtedly behind us. Rolling to my belly in the grass, I cast a glance up at the girls who had begun to paint Ophella a fetching shade of yellow. Yellow walls and gleaming white trim. Why yellow was the color of choice was beyond me, but it did raise the spirits.

It was almost like living inside of a big burst of sunshine. Over the years Ophella would turn numerous colors, but the yellow was one of my favorites. “Nea! You missed a spot!” I taunted from my spot on the ground while she hovered high up on the edges of the domed roof to paint the trim. 

“Keep your mouth shut Prom or get your ass up here and help!” She was the only one who would dare be up so high and the entire house took advantage of it when necessary. Granted, the entire household also pampered her to within an inch of her sanity in the aftermath because an angry Aranea was a very unpleasant silver haired Goddess. 

I rolled over to see your smiling face and made a show of frowning and rolling my eyes. “I better quit while I’m ahead.”

“You better.” You replied softly, pulling me down into your arms for a hug. I wasn’t there long when I heard the single chocobo carriage pull up in the dirt drive. Pulling myself from your embrace, there was Mistress. “She’s home!” Scrambling up and off of you, I shot forward to reach our adoptive mother’s side.

She always brought us home some kind of present, and new foods for the week.that all of us would spend hours making. I had lost my pudgier form, but my love for food had never declined. Truth be told, some days I missed that chubby little boy instead of the gangly creature I had become. I didn’t understand that new body or what I was supposed to do with it.

Mistress held her arm, singular, out wide to catch me, and pressed a warm kiss against my forehead. A smear of red was left in her wake, and the scent of brown sugar from the cookies she had picked up at the baker’s before coming home, hit my nose. “Happy to have you home Missy.”

Her chuckle was deep and rich, a little smokey from the pipe tobacco she enjoyed at night on the porch swing, as she held me close and tilted my face up for inspection. “More and more freckles my beautiful boy… painted by the Gods are you. Like a roadmap of the stars above.” Another kiss to my cheek happened before she let me go and accepted you into her arms. 

The exchange was shorter, but no less involved as she smiled at you as though she had missed a whole year of our lives. “My beautiful girl. You look more and more grown up each time I return. Stop growing on me.” She tapped the tip of your nose and turned away to wave at the six other women who shared the house with us. With Mistress back, it meant that they didn’t have to cook anymore.

Mistress was many things, and a good cook was one of them. She was also a multi-roled woman in the house, acting as mother and father when need be. Discipline was harsh, but required for such an unruly lot, but when we got the end of that switch from her wicked grip, all of us knew exactly why it had happened. Other times she was softer than a house cat napping in front of a roaring fireplace.

Either way, she was ours and we were hers. Stepping back and away so that she could situate the bundle in her arms, the other girls came to gather her travel bags out of the carriage as she meandered up toward the porch with you and I in tow. As she always did when she was coming back from her travels, she was in tanned brown leather pants and a hearty tunic that protected against the elements. All of her long, curled salt and peppered hair was braided tight beneath her hat and the majority of her hands and wrists went unbangled. It wouldn’t do to flash your riches in front of thieves on the road.

“What is it Missy?” I was almost bursting with excitement at the prospects. Was it for us? Or the whole family? Was it a new treasure we had never seen before?

Her sparkling hazel eyes turned toward me and like a scene out of a blessed novel, she deposited the small creature in my arms and I was in love. 

Let me explain…

The only people in life that I had ever trusted were the two women I knew as my mothers and you. Besides that, people were monsters and had little redeeming qualities. Then we came to the house and I met others a lot like the two of us, but there was still a bit of a barrier because trust was a scary thing to give. Except maybe Missy. She reminded me so much of my own mother, and I knew without a doubt in my mind that she would protect me with everything she was. I could feel it in her arms when she held me and in the way she so fiercely gazed at me when I was scared, that nothing would bring me harm under her watch.

So with few people to interact with and me being an awkward social person no matter how much I wanted to be competent, I turned to animals. Whatever strays would wander into our yard, or the little creatures that snuck into our home for warmth, they became my friends. I nursed them, cleaned them, and fed them with whatever I could find, but sooner or later they ran away or ended up dead.

I was a teenager when I realized that most of the birds I took in had turned into meals for the family but how could I begrudge two widows trying to care for their children? When we arrived at Ophella’s there were numerous creatures for me to care for, however they had never been allowed in the home unless they were sick or the weather was too dangerous for them to remain in the out of doors. When Missy put this new creature into my arms, I knew she was giving me permission to have my very own pet.

“Oh you didn’t get him a pet did you!” Aranea had just climbed down off of the roof and was waltzing up to the group when she saw what I was holding.

Mistress rolled her eyes and patted my head with affection. “Our Prom asks for very little. And when I saw this boy I knew that Prompto was the only one who would be able to take care of him.” There was a hint of sorrow in her gaze which prompted me to push down the blankets and behold my new friend.

What a pitiful sight he was. A fluff ball of fur but beneath it, he was naught more than bone and skin. There were matted pieces of fur that were so bad I would for sure have to cut them out and he was clearly malnourished. Somehow, by the grace of the Gods, he wasn’t riddled with disease. 

“He’s hideous.” Aranea muttered, throwing you a look when you were quick to jump to my defense.

“He’s fine.” You said firmly as you turned to me and smiled. “PRompto will make him healthy in no time.” When you said it, even if the doubt was ever present in my mind, I believed it. 

And I did.

For the next six months I fed, brushed, walked, cuddled and slept with that dog day in and day out. If I went somewhere, he came with me even when he gained enough strength to walk around on his own. I fed him only the fattiest meats in the beginning that I got from one of the ranchers down the street.

“You ever gonna name that pup, Prom?” Old man Trillen asked one day when I went down to deliver some homemade cookies for his twin granddaughters’ birthday. It was a rather hot day and most people were down at the sea to keep cool, but I had hung back because my pup didn’t like big crowds. 

“When it comes to me. I just haven’t found the right one.” And we had all tried.

Now, Mr. Trillen was a hulk of a man who looked made for hard labor. He was as tall as a half giant and just as broad with muscles that looked carved out of rugged rock. He was square and hard all over, which made me wonder if he wasn’t some kind of warrior in another life, or at the very least, his younger years. When I was a young teen he was nearing sixty, but he moved and acted like a man in his thirties. Sun kissed skin and bleached blond hair completed his impressive image, but it was his baby blue eyes that softened him. He was a gentle giant despite his size and probably the only man I really felt comfortable around. “Well you let me know.” His gravelly voice demanded with a hint of amusement. He knelt to the pup, who was nice and fat now, and petted his silky black fur until the small beast was growling and whining in pleasure. “Now come on, lets go get that ground meat for Missy. She promised me some of those meat pies.” 

“Ohhhh yeah…” Missy made the best meat pies, and she only did it at the end of the summer and for the holidays. Naturally we kept the extras frozen, but they were always better fresh. Patting my leg for the animal, who was now nearly as tall as my mid thigh, the two of us followed after the rancher to the butcher shed and collected the paper packed meats. Good thing I had brought the wagon. “Next time I should bring down the carriage.” 

Trillen laughed, a full deep belly laugh, and nodded. “The town would be happy if they saw that. It’d mean they could hope to get some of those pies.” Missy made pies for the house and a few of the other houses in our rural countryside. Mr. Trillen because he supplied the meat, Mrs. Nickols because she was our candle maker and a widow who no longer enjoyed to cook, and Mr. Humphrey who owned a large farm that produced the most delicious vegetables in Accordo. Or so we believed because of course everything was better in our little corner of the world.

Since she made pies and offered other services, of course, the three individuals were more than willing to trade their products with our home. Mrs Nickols was a frequent visitor at the house with one of our women, while Mr. Trillen came to see Aranea frequently. But surprisingly, not for sex. She reminded him of his wife and he often asked her to read to him or simply let him hold her. Missy and Aranea had both decided that he would never pay for something like that, but he always gave us the best cuts of meat for the kindnesses Ophella’s manor offered him.

Of course Mr. Humphrey had a wife, but sometimes the two of them came to visit Missy and the three of them shared their nights together. I never really understood what they were doing until Aranea explained to me that the three of them were lovers. AGain, I didn’t know why someone needed two lovers when one was enough but that was my age talking. I understood it more as I grew up.

“Alright kiddo and pup,” The black coated creature yipped happily when he received a thick piece of jerky from Mr. Trillen’s overalls. “You better get going. Looks like a storm is heading in.” The clouds above were shifting rapidly from fluffy white affairs to dusky grey which meant that the rain wasn’t far behind.

“Thanks Mr. Trillen! We’ll see you tomorrow!” It was his weekly evening with Aranea, and it meant that you and I got to babysit his granddaughters. They were such sweet girls.

“See you tomorrow, Prom. You hurry on home now.” He called as the wind picked up and the sky rumbled ahead. With a wave goodbye, I set into a quick trot but even I couldn’t outrun the rain.

By the time that the pup and I were home we were drenched but thankfully the meat had been protected by the thick hide blanket draped over the wagon. Once everything was inside and the pup and I were warm, it was more than time for a nap.

The reason why this is important, to mention our naps, was because I didn’t go a day without sleeping with that dog. Naked, clothed, or half naked, it didn’t matter, we were inseparable. Which was why, after six months of living with this creature who was absolutely mine, I woke up one morning with him curled between my legs but he was no longer covered in downy black fur…

He was heavier and less furry… In fact the only place there was hair on his entire body was his head…

His human head.

I had never screamed so loud in all of my life!

“What’s wrong! What happened!” You were kicking your covers off of you as fast as you could but still got tangled and fell hard with a thump that made me worry for you. The second you scrambled through the curtain that separated our bedding, you saw why I had screamed.

“What the hell!” Grabbing up a broom in the corner of the room, you let it raise and slam down on the very large man between my thighs. Laying right on top of my exposed crotch. Another swat woke him up, and when he tried to scurry away, both of us screaming and yelling, he slid into a corner and huddled into a ball, absolutely terrified.

This man, was far larger than the two of us, and stacked with firm muscles all over his broad body. There wasn’t an ounce of fat as far as the eye could see across his lightly tanned skin nor a stitch of clothing. As you went to whack him again with that broom, he chanced a glance up at me and that’s when I caught sight of his bright eyes and I knew.

I knew, no matter how insane it sounded ,that this was my pup. “Stop!” I leapt up and threw my naked gangly body in front of the magnificent creature cowering and shaking in the corner and just barely dodged your hit. “It’s pup…”

“What!” You shouted, trying to get a look at him, but I was standing in your way. That broom was still being clutched too tightly for comfort and I knew if you got a clear shot you were going to smack him.

IT was about that time that Missy and Aranea bolted up the stairs and found the three of us looking like we had been through a battle with the state of our room. “What is happening here?” Missy shouted, garnering both of our attention and setting pup to whimpering all over again.

“This man snuck in here and was molesting Prompto!” you shouted.

“No he wasn’t! It’s pup!”

“It’s a man!” Aranea countered with a snort of disdain. I expected Missy to lose her mind finding a man up in our room, but she was the most calm one out of all of us. 

“Get him some clothes Aranea.” Her eyes were all knowing as she looked at pup and motioned for us to move. Coming to his huddled body, which made my heart ache, she knelt and drew his head into her lap, petting him soothingly.

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, and she didn’t comment on the matter until he was clothed and brought downstairs for some food. That night when he was tucked away to sleep in a guest room, she explained. “Pup is a shifter. I thought they were all but extinct.”

“A shifter.” Aranea asked in quiet surprise. “You mean a child of Titan?” 

Both you and I stared wide eyed at the silver haired woman, having heard the tales, but thinking they were merely fantastical stories that held no merit.

Missy nodded and heaved a deep sigh. “Yes. And he must have been just born when I found him in that market. Which means that Titan has sent him to us for a reason…”

For me the reason was because I needed a friend, but at thirteen years old I couldn’t really comprehend too far outside of myself or the greater picture. I would later find out that he had been sent for Lady Lunafreya…

But in those days before she found us, he was mine and I was his. We shared, loved, lived, cried, and learned with one another in a way I will forever be grateful for. Perhaps he wasn’t my forever love, but my forever friend he would never stop being.

That night while I tried to sleep, I found that something was missing, and deciding that I didn’t care one bit that he was now a man, I snuck down to his room and curled up in bed with him. His bright eyes opened in relief to regard me before he nuzzled in beneath my chin and wrapped those big strong arms around me.

It took a month for him to learn how to speak and a few more for him to blend effortlessly into ‘normal’ society. Most of the time he stayed shifted, once he figured out how to get back, but every now and then he would remain as a man. 

A man who decided that his name was Nyx. That was what Titan had whispered to him through the tall trees when the wind whipped over our little manor, and therefore it was the name that he adopted.

He was my Nyx. And from that moment on, he was family.

********

That night as everyone else drifted off to sleep, Lady Luna desperately pregnant and in need of a comfortable place to sleep, Nyx and I watched the others silently beside the fireplace. His wife was curled up with Noctis who had immediately claimed her as a cuddle partner.

The lot of us have been lovers in the past and more so than ever in this current present, which will undoubtedly flow into the future, but we know who belongs to who and those bonds are unbreakable. “Are you excited to be a father?” 

Nyx smiled happily at me and nodded. He had been out of my bed for a while now that Luna was well into her pregnancy and having a hard time of it. “I am. And you? How is your little one?” He was the God father of course, and even though we lived together, he always made the inquiry.

“Beautiful.” I whispered through the sleepiness plaguing me, but Nyx knew. He always knew.

Laying down on the rug with a large pillow supporting the upper halves of our body, he held his arms wide and smiled. “Come on, Prom. Let’s go to sleep too.” 

“How can I resist that command.” I teased happily, sliding down into arms that I still dreamt about in the middle of the night. Noctis was my forever love and nothing felt as good as being close to him…

But Nyx was a part of my soul that Titan had entrusted me to care for. I loved him as I loved you or Missy and that was a bond that time would not break. He kissed me tenderly on the head and lightly growled against my ear, his version of a purr, and then it was dark.

Dark, warm and safe as it always was in his arms.


	3. Nightmares in the Living World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader's POV about how hard the world is... and all of the things that have had to be done for survival. Luckily there has been love along the way...
> 
> (Warning... difficult themes. dismemberment and murder)

(Reader POV)  
*******

The war for the rest of the world began in my twenty first year when the peace treaties fell through around the planet and Lucis, Tenebrae, and Accordo all declared war on Niflheim for their constant intrusions into the kingdoms and other areas.

However, for us, it had always been war time. There was always a unit moving through our lands before the Queen took offense and pushed them from our shores. Then they became more stealthy and sent spies to infiltrate us, to find our weaknesses and how to best surround the blessed city of Altissia so as to conquer her and the Goddess loyal to her believers.

That was Nifflheim’s ultimate goal in their pursuits of power, to take over any and every area that boated a God's protection so that they could hope to summon the mighty Astral’s and harness their power. So they built their weapons and their armies, pushing their legions all over Eos until they were met with resistance and then they pulled back. Their threat was always at our borders, but the Queen of Accordo did not want to engage in war and instead began to close our borders so that no one could come in or get out without permission. Our navy surrounded the islands in their various ports for those long three years before the war began.

I was just eighteen and it was the start of autumn, which meant that the fishing season was closing down and therefore whoever had masqueraded as a fisherman was going to be stranded in Accordo for the winter. The Queen had just put up her rules about air travel being banned into the city, which meant that the countryside was going to get more dangerous. Spies and loyalists to Niflheim were a distinct threat and it wasn’t uncommon in the next few years for skirmishes to arise.

Part of me had been foolish to think it would never come for Ophella’s while the other part of me was waiting for the shoe to drop and my childhood to come rushing back to me. Nightmares plagued me off and on so that eventually I stopped sharing a bed with anyone due to my fear of worrying them. I was Prompto’s protector and it wouldn’t do to worry him in my eyes, whereas Aranea was still my lover and I couldn’t bear her judgement.

My mind was far away the night I came calling to her room in the middle of the night and when she greeted me with a heady kiss the fear drifted away for a time. Aranea had that power over me. But even she wasn’t omnipotent.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” SHe purred against my throat, stroking down the light cotton of my sleep gown with insistent touches that were eager to pull the cloth away. The Gods knew I wanted her to. I needed her warmth and strength to fortify my shaken will.

“I have not.” I had been…

I loved her but I knew of her lack of patience with weakness and therefore I didn’t want to give her a chance to glimpse mine. Gasping at the sensation of her teeth sinking into my neck, she pulled away and put those blistering green gems on me as if trying to search out the truth I was withholding. “What troubles you my girl…” 

I swallowed down the thick tears and shook my head, imploring her for a kiss. “Not yet.” I whimpered into her mouth, breathing down the heat of her breath and praying that it would warm me up from the chilling fears running rampant. 

“Tell me what you need?” Her voice was rough with rage that something was upsetting me, ever the protector, as she took hold of my hand and led me to her bed. Her gorgeous robe drifted off of her shoulders to pool onto the ground and there before me stood a Goddess. One I had worshipped for the past three years and knew better than anyone before her ever had. With careful hands, I reached up and cupped her perfect breasts, drawing them closer to my mouth to suckle on until she was moaning freely.

Her fingers worked through the tangled strands atop my head, both praising and trying to get me to ease up on my assault, but it only made me suck harder. I didn’t want her to be gentle. I needed the rougher aspect of her love to ground me. To mark me.

“Enough.” Aranea eventually barked, ripping my head back and away with a soft pop before she plundered past my lips with her tongue, eyes wide open and locked onto mine in a bid to exert her control. She would have no more of my sass tonight. “Open your legs.”

I did as she commanded, and watched as she sunk to her knees before me, leaning forward to draw one of my jeweled, cloth covered nipples into her mouth. Her green gems kept contact with my own watery orbs and it was as she finally withdrew my gown and left me exposed to her plump lips, that I let my fears go and accepted her love. Head thrown back with a moan on the tip of my tongue, she devoured my breasts, licking and nipping all around the flushed bits of fat and lastly going back to my nipples where she took hard, satisfying pulls against the abused buds. “So wet for me…” 

My eyes flew open to feel her smooth fingertips dancing between my lower lips, painting the interior of my gates with liquid fire that made me whine for further stimulation. She touched everywhere with those naughty digits save for the two places I wanted to feel her. AGainst my clit and inside of my empty channel. “Nea.” I grunted, gritting my teeth as she clamped down viciously against the nipple in her mouth so that I felt her teeth touch with the bar running through it. Delicious pain…

I loved it.

“Want me to touch you do you? To lick your pussy, sweet girl? Do you need me? Do you want to come?”

“Yes! Yes… all of it.” I went to reach for her but another bite stilled my questing fingertips into returning to the sheets where I dug in without reprieve, threatening to rip the sheets. “And I want you. Now.”

Aranea grinned up at me in a way that made me feel strong, pleased at my outward display of dominance that she rarely allowed. With a quick motion she cast me to my back and slithered up my body, kissing and tasting my mouth until the rush of desire bottomed out to a wonderful slow burn. When she was satisfied with the state of our world, she swiveled her shapely hips around so that they rested above my head and her stomach dipped down to rest against mine.

This put her back in an arch and bared her bright pink womanhood to my eyes and mouth. The little engorged bundle of nerves and slick interior were mesmerizing and as she took her time kissing and lavishing my thighs with tender licks, knowing that I liked a moment or two to just gaze at her, I reached up and slid my index finger all the way inside of her taut body.

The bite to my thigh encouraged me to continue and as my middle finger joined the first, she clamped down around me and rocked her hips into my touch. “Fuck…. Sweet girl… that’s so damn good.” It had been a while since she had been filled, having only received female lovers as of late who wanted tending to. My Nea didn’t mind because that put her in charge, but even she had her limits.

“Let me have this.” I commanded softly, lifting my lips to her drenched core to lick all around my fingers so that I could taste her. Sweet sweet honeydew… as ripe as the ones I had picked that summer and every summer before. My eyes fluttered shut to indulge my other senses with her. How slick and smooth she felt against my tongue, her little sounds that came from her mouth and the place in which I filled her, and of course the delicious smell that settled itself in my brain and turned me on beyond belief. I might have been having a crisis, but Aranea was the perfect distraction.

Determined to bring her to an earth shattering end and to cement my place as her top lover, I twisted and turned my fingers until I found that sweet spot and pressed down on it with the right amount of pressure. My tongue went to her clitorus and firmed up to stroke rapidly against the nerve endings. It wasn’t very long that she forced her face against my fat thigh in a high pitched scream, and her sex squished in on my face as she came hard and unyielding. 

Most lovers would be shaky and sated in the aftermath, but not my Nea. She was a giver even if she denied it, and the moment her legs were semi functioning, she rolled off of me. Licking all around my lips to clean me, she smiled like a succubus in heat, and slid straight down my plush form. “Gonna take care of my sweet girl. Been too long since you were in my bed…” Too long for Nea was a few days, but in this case she was right. I hadn’t been to her room for nearly a week.

My legs parted willingly as she settled between them with her knees back on the ground. Gently, she guided the arch of my foot to rest on the rounded edge of the mattress and slid her arms through the bend of my knees before she pressed her lips to my core. This night she did not take her time to tease or rile me up past all sense, she dove into me and took all that I was worth without apology. Drenched in sweat, rolling and writhing beneath her ministrations, my body pushed itself closer to the fall with her helping hands.

“Nea… please… please…” Just there! I was just there, right on the cusp but I couldn’t quite reach…

“I’ve got you sweet girl.” She whispered with devastating precision, stripping down my barriers and sending my fears into overdrive just as an all consuming orgasm ravaged me. I screamed loud and high, griping into her silver locks and only when my body stopped spasming, did I feel the tears come.

“Ssshhhh…” Aranea whispered against my brow, wrapping me in her smaller body so that she could hold me through this storm. Words did not pass between either of us, but it was that night that I learned Aranea loved me past her grievances with the mortals of the world. She was seeing my weakness and accepting it without hesitation.

“I love you.” Clutching her tighter as I wept that was the first night she responded with an equally sure, 

“I love you too, _______l.”

*********

“______…. _______!!” I could hear her calling me but it felt as though I were underwater and her voice was on a far off distant shore instead of just beside me as she was. The shake of her hands and dig of her nails would have been enough to wake a slumbering dualhorn, but when I was lost in dreams like this one, not much could break through the terror.

My body thrashed about, pushing and shoving at the invisible attacker who had made it into my room. The smell of smoke and dirt filled up my memories and the sight of that dreaded circular symbol with a crudely scrawled E in the center. Those were the men who always started the problems…

“_______. Hey pretty girl…. Come on. Listen to me.” His voice is the one to break through the din and panic, pushing that hideous moment from my subconscious until there is only the safe darkness once more. That’s when the voice takes further shape and I realize that my body is warm and comfort is a very real concept. I’m immersed in blankets and pillows that smell of wild flowers. The scent of melting wax hits my nose and it is that final experience that draws me out of the darkness and back into the light.

Prompto, naked as the day he was born, Nyx, also nude, and Aranea, who is forever nude or just about, are staring at me with worry in two sets of eyes and knowing in the violet highlighted blue orbs of my best friend. “Prom…” It’s a desperate sound that makes him frown in upset before he lays down and holds me close to his chest, stroking one hand through my hair. 

“It’s okay honey.” He murmurs against my brow where his fingertips immediately go, caressing over my eyelids so that they close and I can rest. 

“What happened?” Aranea eventually asks after she has laid down and is holding me from behind. I never wanted her to see this and the embarrassment that she has, has forced tears from my eyes. I dig deeper into Prompto to hide them, but she notices of course.

“She has these dreams. We were attacked fairly regularly when we were kids. Men breaking in and trying to get what they wanted.” By what they wanted, he meant sex, and it didn’t matter if it came from a child or a weak man or woman. Anyone that those men could control, they did. Then they used them and discarded them as though the people were mere objects without feeling. “She always slept closest to the door… So people wouldn't hurt me.” 

“Oh sweet girl…” Aranea kissed my shoulder tenderly and immediately pulled me out of Prompto’s arms. “Did they ever?”

Prompto curled in against my back and shook his head, knowing that I didn’t have the strength to speak. “No. But they came close. One of our mother’s usually were able to chase them out with the shot gun.” Or offer themselves up in place of us. Neither of us had ever seen our mother’s cry for all that they had gone through, but as time went on I could understand the weariness I had often mistaken for fatigue in their eyes. Such sacrifices and cruelties took a toll on the human spirit, and those poor women had been put through too much in such a short life. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She whispered into my ear, holding me just this side of too tight but I didn’t comment on the question. Both of us knew the answer. 

That night, curled up in the arms of my closest friends and family, the dreams did not bother me again, though they found their way back over the weeks and much to my surprise, Aranea insisted on being there for them. It took a long time for me to allow her to see those things, but love wasn’t always pretty and it moved me deeply that hers was strong enough for my fears.

*******

A person doesn’t forget much, and if they dare to try, there is always something in the universe that will remind them of struggle and that they are not immune from it. Some moments in this life leave you with lasting memories, and others draw scars that criss cross on top of battered fears that reach into the soul.

I thought I had seen it all and done it all by the time I was eighteen, but just because I had witnessed death, does not mean I knew what it was to take a life. Some would argue that it was not I who had stolen the light from this man’s eyes, enemy or not, but I had been in the process of doing so and would have followed through had Prompto not finished him off.

Accordo is surrounded by seas on all sides as are most islands, which meant that storms and the like are a reality at every season of the year. This night was an unusually warm autumn evening, so I had pushed open the downstairs door just inside the kitchen for an extra burst of wind. Prompto, Aranea and Nyx were out down to the open market to pick up a few necessities for the house, while Missy had stepped out to make a few deliveries.

That meant that I was all by my lonesome, save for the six women and two men who were home, upstairs, and working. In other words, I had the downstairs all to myself. Which was a rarity. So on went the radio, and up went the sound. It was just after supper which meant that one of the bands in Altissa was playing, and that music took over me like a tidal wave rushing for shore. 

My feet kept to the beat of the drums while my hips started to sway to the shout of the trumpets and then swing down low to give praise to the smoother notes of a bass clarinet. Music was always being played in the house, but never at the decibel I had it pounding through the speakers. Dancing my way through that kitchen with my eyes closed with the praise of the singer in my ears, I never noticed the closing or opening of the back door.

Never noticed how those dark, haunting eyes watched me with hunger. Nor did I notice how he effectively shut and locked the large wooden structure that barred me from the outside and possible freedom. It wasn’t until his low whistle called out to me that I realized I was not alone.

Grinding to a halt, nearly burgundy with embarrassment to have been caught dancing, the smile on my face fell as I turned toward the sound and came face to face with a man I did not know. Tall and not overly imposing in size, the threat in his aura evoked the fear his slighter build neglected. He was a head taller than me and was clearly much smaller, but his body was packed with muscle that I could see tightening all over his arms. He was fast…

There would be no out running him, which I felt I needed to do as soon as an opportunity presented itself. “Can… can I help you?” I sidled around the edge of the table, trying to make it look natural but he caught the nervousness in my voice and grinned. He was hungry and I was the meal he was looking for.

With a menacing step forward of his big black boots, he scratched through his hair and chuckled. “I’m betting you can… such a pretty thing you are…. And all alone.” He wasn’t asking. He didn’t need to, considering that I wasn’t calling out for help. His eyes flashed as did mine the moment he dropped his hand and I glimpsed that cursed little circle with an E inside of it.

What possessed me next, I will never know. Perhaps it was the fury of Leviathan herself, but all I knew was that I was not going to have any part of me taken for the Empire. I would not be his victim, nor theirs. In the blink of an eye the heavens aligned and judgement rang out across the sky with a bevy of flashing light and then a wicked boom that shook me to my core.

The music cut and he made his move. One second he was across the kitchen and the next he was running over the table straight toward me. I had one quick moment to turn and grab a butcher’s knife before he tackled me and we landed on the floor in a heap. “Now now… that’s not polite is it!” His spittle landed all over my cheeks, making me want to wretch but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. Unfortunately I wasn’t going to get much satisfaction myself considering he pinned my attacking hand down and quickly put my free hand beneath his knee, crushing my wrist.

I screamed bloody murder as pain lacerated up my arm and across my left side. Enraged as I was with the pain, I managed to wiggle the leg that rested to the side of his leg so that it joined its twin and shoved my knees out to knock his balance for a wild ride. As I had anticipated, he slumped forward and lifted up with his hands focusing his weight forward on mine, which opened him up for my final move.

He knew it was coming because his eyes flew wide seconds before the impact and as my knee slammed up into his groin, he quickly rolled to the side in an attempt to avoid injury, but I still got him. Clambering up to my knees and dropping on top of his writhing body I brought that knife up without hesitation and drove it home into his shoulder. It would have been his heart but he had bucked me up and off of him, which ruined my aim.

One minute I was above and the next minute I was tumbling over his shoulder onto back beside the cupboards. I’m not sure how I managed to get up faster than him because he was surprisingly resistant to pain, or perhaps just enraged by it, but I did and made a mad dive for the living room to get up the stairs where someone with a weapon would be.

I was barely two steps away with one loud bang stopped me, and then another forced me to turn and look. The inside door was hanging on by one hinge, which explained bang one, while Nyx, Aranea and Prompto stood inside of it. Prompto had his gun raised with the barrel still smoking, and I realized that had been bang number two.

Flicking my gaze to my attacker I watched in horror as he fell, wide eyed, to the ground and there in the back of his head was one perfect shot. 

“”Oh my gods! Are you okay?!” Prompto dropped his gun into Nyx’ hands and ran at me where I immediately broke down sobbing as Aranea turned tail and ran out of the door to who knew where. Currently I was too shaken up to care…

“I’m… I’m okay.” My clothes were in tatters, ripped from various seams and there would undoubtedly be bruises showing up tomorrow. Nyx had made his way to the fallen man, a heavy frown on his face as he turned back to me and knelt down to stroke my cheek with his soft hand. 

“You sure? Wanna go lay down?” His voice was jagged with emotion, but he was keeping his anger to the side for now. If there was one thing Nyx couldn’t stand, it was to see a woman or child put in harm's way. 

Somehow during everything, he had realized that not all was well with me and gathered the supplies to bandage my wrist. The moment he was done, not wanting to worry him, I dragged my hands across the shaved sides of his head and drew him down against my breast where my heart was beating a mile a minute. “I’m okay.” It was shaky at best, but both Prompto and Nyx allowed for it to pass for the moment.

Just as my breathing was returning to normal Aranea came bursting into the room with Mr. Trillen in tow. He took one look at the fallen man and his entire face tightened up. “Damn Niff’s. Been pushing themselves out of the countrysides and moving in on the townships.” Which was always the case with the Niflheim spies. At times they were so quiet you would have thought they were gone from the world.

Then they crept back in, with your defenses low and unsuspecting and made their little attacks for the Empire. One day they were hoping to take over enough posts throughout the country to push the capital to admit their allegiance to the Empire, but our Queen knew that we would rather die than see Leviathan’s beloved islands fall into the enemy’s clutches. “Alright boys. You help me. Nea, you take care of _____. Ladies don’t need to see what’s coming.”

Well, that wasn’t about to fly with me. “Hold on. We’re in a war zone and I can’t see things that aren’t pretty? Nuh uh. No way. He tried to rape me, and I’m gonna see him finished.” Whatever all of that meant.

Much to my surprise Mr. Trillen didn’t argue, in fact he looked rather proud. “Alright then. Come on. Boys haul him out to the wagon. We’ll tow him to the farm.” And then he turned to go while Prompto and Nyx followed through on his orders and Aranea linked her arm around my shoulders to lead me out to the yard.

Now, there are moments in time when you have to make a choice. Are you going to go forward and be changed for the rest of your years, or are you going to let someone else get their hands dirty so you can salvage that piece of yourself? Most people go with the latter, but I hadn’t lived an easy life, and I wasn’t about to start.

What we did to that Niflheim bastard was the stuff nightmares were made of and I hoped with all of my might that one day they would embed themselves into the followers of the empire who considered us weak. With each and every limb we chopped and dropped into the meat grinder, the churn of the crank fueling my fury, I hardened that soft part of myself that would be destroyed in this war if I left it unattended. The last piece I ground to mush was his wrist with that heinous tattoo, and as it disappeared between the metal grinders I felt lighter than I ever had before.

That was one less asshole on the face of this planet. And it wouldn’t be my last to take away from Eos.

Over the next few years before the war, and the five that war was declared, hundreds of spies passed through that meat grinder and were spread out cast out into the seas as chum for the sharks and other predators that circled the islands. This was our offering to Leviathan and she was pleased…

Not once did we lose one of our own to the beasts that swam free, but the Niff’s that fell into the dark blue water sent them into a frenzy. Some said that we had given them the taste for Niflheim blood…

Others believed that it was Leviathan taking her stand.

********  
(Many years later)

“No! No! Please… no!” It sounded like someone elses voice calling for help after all of these years, but I knew that it belonged to me, even in the clutches of my nightmares. For years I have heard these screams and awoken to their desperate pleas, but tonight the ghosts are watching over me and as a caress shifts through my mind to fade the image of my attacker, my eyes flutter open and there she is…

Rich, abundant curls that are crimson like the setting sun, and starry grey eyes filled with love and devotion. She hovers above me as the sound of slamming doors prompt me into wakefulness and then she is gone. “My Queen…” I whisper to her fleeing form, reaching out to keep her with me, but she is gone.

Just like all of those years ago…

“My Darling?” Ignis flew out of our chamber doors in the Altissian castle in a panic, his robes whipping about his mostly naked body while the swish of his silk pants anchored me further to the real world.

I was out on a settee in our sitting room, just in front of the dying fire where I had been a few hours ago, reading one of my favorite stories. “Iggy?” Somewhat confused though things were growing clearer by the moment, it wasn’t until I sat up and gazed down at my kneeling husband that I became fully awake. “I’m alright.”

“Are you certain? You gave me quite a fright.” He looked all around in search of an intruder I suspect, but he will find no one save for Aranea and now Gladiolus who have forced their way into our rooms from the adjoining door to their suite on the right side of the area. 

“What happened sweet girl?” Naked as always with her lance perched in her right hand, Gladio thankfully adorned some clothes for this situation in the form of linen sleep pants. Granted they don’t really hide anything.

“I’m fine. I swear.” Gently, I raise Ignis’ hand that bears his King’s ring on his forefinger, and kiss it. “I am terribly sorry for worrying everyone.”

Gladiolus double checks the windows and then pins his eyes on the King. “Don’t worry about that. But are you sure you’re okay?” The attack at the shrines today had put everyone on edge, especially considering it had been a Niflheim spy. This meant that they were growing their resources again...

I nod, and accept Aranea’s body against my back with very little fuss. She had been particularly concerned about me after the incident and had been a bear to force out of the King's chambers. Still, I cannot deny her ever, and she’s so terribly warm when it feels like all of the heat in the room has vacated. My fingertips are frozen as are the tips of my toes. “Bad dreams sweetheart?” SHe purrs, wrapping her arms across my shoulders as understanding blooms to life in Ignis’ dark green gems.

“Oh Darling…” He’s forlorn and looks terribly lost, “Forgive me. That man will be taken care of first thing in the morning.” The rage in his eyes flickered over to Gladiolus who arched a brow and nodded with finality.

“Consider it handled Iggy. _________.” Gladiolus settled down in one of the chairs closest to the three of us and sighed. He had wanted to end it on the spot, but Ignis had been determined to get answers. The rest of the Kingdom was clamoring for his execution which they would have come morning. 

Agitated and slightly unfocused, Ignis dug his fingers into my thigh but released me immediately when I winced. He was not an easy man to anger, but if I was threatened in any way, his ire came out to play. For as kind and gentle as he was with me at all times, as a soldier and a King, he could be painfully unforgiving. “Forgive me my Darling. I am so sorry this has followed you home..” Ignis rested his head down against my lap and sighed. Of course he wasn’t requesting my attention, merely trying to comfort me, but I was an absolute sucker for running my fingers through his thick blond locks. 

“ It’s okay. There is nothing to forgive for you did nothing wrong..” Nightmares had always plagued me throughout my life, some worse than others, and I never expected respite from them. They are mere memories exerting force over someone’s life, and just like happy times, they need attention. 

Apparently they had wanted to be taken out of the dark. The whole day had been spent with the townspeople at Leviathan’s shrine, praising our fallen Queen who brought us an alliance with Lucis, and a King in Ignis to get us through the war. Leviathan’s own blessing upon me had ensured the love of Accordo’s people into my hands, and I have never forsaken such a gift. 

Somehow a Niflheim spy, probably left over from the war and having just laid low in the countryside, decided to enact revenge on any one of us, but I had been the easy target. Everything had happened so fast but now it was over. Truthfully it didn’t even upset me that much except for the fact that someone disrespected the memory of the final Accordian of the ancient royal line. Today I miss the woman who loved me enough, despite barely knowing me, to give my beloved her Kingdom and me a blessing. “I miss her.” I whispered quietly in the darkness, pressing back against Aranea while my fingertips continued to caress through Ignis’ hair. 

“We all do my Darling.” Ignis glanced up to notice my fluttering lids and immediately stood up. Aranea wasn’t far behind when he swung me up into his arms and headed to our bedroom. “She is with us.”

“I know.” A small smile pulled at my lips and as I was nestled into the silken bedding and velour pillows, this time when I drifted off to sleep, nightmares didn’t come.

With Aranea at my back and Ignis at my front how could anything think to harm me anyway?

But they would be back… 

They always came back.

But that didn’t bother me.


	4. The Road to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis POV... his role in his early years beside the Prince, and the journey Regis put him on for his future.

(Ignis POV)

*****

A king’s life is dictated by everything his people need. He is an heir, a leader, a friend, and a protector. They need him to be their champion and never break no matter the pressure applied to him. A king is naught but a man and even men have their breaking points.

That is why a King calls upon trusted individual’s to fill in the pieces that he misses in his role as monarch and in essence, that is what the job of an Advisor is. King of Lucis has at his side, his trusted Shield who ensures his physical safety, while his advisor handles any and everything else that may weather him mentally.

That is my job as the future King’s advisor. It has been my calling since I was but a young boy preparing for a life that would never fully be my own. Truthfully, when I was still young and determined to find value in this world, it had been an honor to be given such a fate that would surely cement a comfortable and fortuitous future. Again, one that would not be my own, but we all had a destiny to serve and this was clearly mine.

I met young Noctis shortly after his attack that left him changed from the bright eyed boy he had been into the more repressed boy everyone knew him as. There were days I was fortunate to glimpse the carefree laugh of the boy who had gotten lost, and a little hint of mischievous tendency that tormented his father’s crownsguard. Unfortunately those days were few and far between, so the Prince I knew was often times a moody individual lost in his memories that continued to sour throughout the years. Trauma at such a young age is trying, but with the added weight of a Kingdom expecting his very life one day, made the future that much more bleak.

Either way, throughout the years I attempted to step into various roles that he needed of me but eventually found one that suited us both and that was as his friend. For Noctis he had always wanted the novelty of friends that he witnessed in films and television shows, but as a Crown Prince those were better left as dreams than reality. No one saw him as a ‘person’, perhaps not even I did, until I realized what he needed and stripped down enough of my own boundaries to realize that I too needed a friend. When the occasion allowed for it, the two of us began to indulge in new trends, but especially the festivals all around the world. 

King Regis was beside himself with delight to pour money into his son’s interests and on more than one occasion had flown us out to various locations and paid the entire carnival to stay open for an extra day With age, the Prince came to loathe his father’s tendency to cut him off from the public, even though Regis only did it to make Noctis more comfortable, and asked him to stop. That was when we began to go out with the crowds and Noctis learned the reason why his father had paid for a day out and about that was just for his son. He also learned the importance of dressing up to ‘blend’ in with the masses. A Prince, and the one from Lucis to boot, did not make for a smooth transition into public life. Anyone and everyone wanted his attention and often favored him instead of treating him like everyone else.

Through costuming, Noctis was able to play a character who was treated equally amongst the other festival goers. Those were good years. They were fun years. Sadly, they did not last as long as either of us would have liked. By the summer of his 18th birthday where as I was midway through my twentieth year, turmoil in the North was knocking on our door.

That meant that playtime was over and the need to prepare for war was upon us. Upon us all. Training resumed with a vengeance and duties became the primary focus for everyone in the Crown City. This also meant that foreign relations were paramount to ensuring alliances against Niflheim who was determined to wake the Gods and harness their power to further the empire they were building.

Or, the empire they were conquering.

While all of this was happening I found it rather difficult to settle into the demand for duty when I had been gifted freedom, and even a hobby that I enjoyed much to my eternal surprise. There had been something so freeing about going outside of the city and living amongst the farmers in the countrysides where the festivals were held in the fields. All manner of workers pitched in to create a little community filled with a special kind of magic that even the Astrals couldn’t have provided.

We bought fried dough and ate in the dirt next to other young travelers, and stayed up late into the night, drinking with those same individuals who were camping along the roads. I became the cook to find after word of mouth spread about my culinary talents, and after a few months of visiting our small festivals, we had people waiting not for a Prince, but for Noct and Iggy. During those four years we had numerous adventures side by side.

We had been friends and we had known something other than Prince and Advisor, or duty. Once, I had even been asked to run a food stall for an entire week’s celebration in the Crown City because stories of my delicious fare made it all the way back home. That will forever remain one of my most precious memories. Everyone from the Citadel, the King and his entourage, came down to eat at the festival, sitting at the picnic tables with the other patrons who spent time bragging about my food and Noctis’ talents with the carnival games. The children always went home with their arms full, while the men and women who owned the games were left without a single object to pack up. King Regis’ gaze had filled with such pride and joy to see his son smiling freely and I even caught him looking at me here and there with a light in his handsome eyes.

Both of us had made him proud.

And that was why, when duty called us home and back to our rightful roles, I pushed on to do as he bid of me, because I realized that our loss of freedom and innocence upset him just as much. It was not Regis who asked to be King, nor was it Noctis who asked to be Prince, but that was who they were and therefore they had to follow the path the Astrals had set out for them. Some would tell me that I had a right to step away from such duty, but I will never accept such a statement.

Something in this universe chose for me to be at Noctis’ side and therefore I did not have the right to abandon him for selfish pursuits. I could never have forgiven myself.

Mostly because then I would not have met my forever love in you.

In the midst of war brewing and the citizens losing faith all around the globe the King of Lucis, Queen of Accordo and the Queen of Tenebrae gathered to inject hope back into the people. Their alliances became paramount to hope for the whole of Eos who did not want to defect into the empire of Niflheim. I say into because everyone knew that freedom wasn’t part of the contract communities made with the Empire. They conquered and you either assimilated or you died. There were no in betweens.

It was that year that Regis sent his son to the Kingdom of Tenebrae to form an alliance with the future Oracle while I was sent off to the far away islands of Accordo. When I look back on that decision that seemed so out of place, I have to thank the wise King who sent me on that journey.

Three voyages to the islands defined my stance in the war, and even more, my belief in my duties, while deep down I harbored hope that I would know freedom one day. For I had new duties coming and those would require all of my focus. They would lead me to freedom. Freedom to live beside the sea that called to me from the moment my feet touched those beautiful white sand beaches and the salt air filled my lungs. Leviathan called to me from the deep sleep she endured and I answered that call over and over again.

My first voyage was determined rather quickly, taking both myself and the King by surprise…

**  
“Highness.” My bow was quick and low before I shot up with straight posture to address my King appropriately. He had called me into a silent and empty meeting room which was rarely a good sign. Scoldings, missions, or discussions about his son happened in the King’s privacy. Save for Clarus of course. He was always there.

Regis smiled with warmth and motioned to the seat beside him. “Have a seat my boy. There is something I need of you. And no it does not relate to Noctis.” He chuckled warmly, his handsome eyes twinkling with the effort despite his fatigue. He had yet to raise the shield around the city, but his Glaives were pulling out all of the stops to keep Niflheim’s soldiers from reaching Leide’s borders and so far were doing an impressive job.

My poor King. I have known this man since early childhood and each year he looks at though ten years have been pulled from his life. He is not an old man by any means, but I can only wonder at how much fight he has left in him. It is why I have sworn that I will do any and all that I can to be of service to not only the Kingdom, but the King himself. “What can I do for you my King?” Settling down at the behest of my King, I thank the servant who puts in place a saucer and cup of tea for me to enjoy while in Regis’ company. 

The King didn’t waste long to get to his point and for that I was relieved. With a soft clink of porcelain to porcelain, he licked away the little drip atop his cupids bow and met my gaze. “My boy, I need you to write to the Queen of Accordo in Noctis’ stead. I have no other I can trust to go see her. I fear if I leave…”

“That Niflheim will make a move.” I finished with a heavy sigh, though there was no denying the honor that had taken over my gaze to be given such a necessary task. “You are certain?”

“Absolutely.” REgis reached across the short distance that separated us and gently grasped my hand. “Accordo needs you, Ignis. I need you to do this for me.” These were not words from a King to his subject, they were from a father figure to a boy he had watched grow into a man.

How could I say no?

“I shall not fail you, highness.” I knew what he was asking and while I did not know the first thing of what to say to a Queen in order to bridge the gap between our countries and create an alliance, I was going to put my everything into it.

Once my tea was finished and Regis bestowed his customary hug upon me before we parted, I returned to my chambers and began to plan out the next course of action for creating an alliance. It would require careful campaigning.

But what I did not realize, was that the campaign had already begun and I was not the General leading his troops to battle.

I was the prize…

****

That first meeting to Accordo was probably one of the most amazing moments of my life. Gone was the pressure and weight that duty brings to a man, and in its place settled the most incredible sense of freedom I had ever known. Even more than what Noctis and I experienced on the open road going to our little festivals. Being in Accordo beneath the sun that was unobscured by massive structures, it felt like I could hear the earth and water calling out to me.

Four months had passed where the Queen and myself shared increasingly familiar letters, until one day she formally invited me to Accordo as her guest and requested that I was alone. Naturally, Regis had practically thrown me onto the airship to depart, and though I knew this woman rather intimately, I was still rather nervous.

What was I to say to a Queen? Written word was easy for a man such as myself who was schooled in various forms of communication to obtain what was wanted, however, this woman could see through my poetic facades and broke me down upon each returned correspondence. It felt incredible to be seen by someone who did not know me, but now I was going to Accordo, to meet this creature. What more would she see?

What more could she possibly uncover that even I didn’t realize was inside of me?

The airship landed in the heart of her massive gardens that surrounded the entire landscape behind the palace. Unlike most palace’s that boasted various sectioned off locations, the Altissian palace maintained a sprawling village amongst her gardens were flora and fauna from all over the star. It would take days to fully explore the beauty of such a masterpiece. Another visit would grant me such an honor.

Not this one.

The doors opened to admit me onto the lush grass where the Queen and close to twenty other men stood. Ten were soldiers as their scaled armor declared, five were her personal advisors who were clothed in robes of silk, and there were four others that flanked both of her sides. There were three women and one man who was shaped in a way that didn’t play up his masculinity nor did it make him appear too feminine. He was truly gorgeous with long black hair that had been braided in an intricate pattern, and brilliant blue eyes that could captivate an angel. The other three were beauties in their own right, but they belonged to their Queen. It was clear in the way that she had dressed them.

Sheer gowns of the finest lace decorated them from head to toe, with undergarments that were modest, but not to the point that they hid away the women’s finest assets. This way their Queen could gaze at her lovers, of course. The man on the other hand, was displayed in a way that was meant to entice. He had my attention, but certainly not my heart. The man reminded me too much of Noctis.

“Majesty.” Bowing low in greeting, only when she signaled did I rise to my full height and meet her incredible sky blue eyes. Cascades of deep red locks shrouded her dainty shoulders all the way down to a lush waist. Well into her thirties, the Queen was a beauty beyond compare, with wisdom and knowledge shining through her eyes that only amplified her attractiveness. This was no mere mantelpiece monarch, she ran her country and she did it well. 

“Ignis. It is so lovely to meet you at long last.” She stepped forward into the halo of my arms and kissed both of my cheeks as if I were a long lost friend. The hug felt real and was just as familiar as her letters to me. I knew this woman. She was my friend…

“Come.” She turned once her arm was linked through mine, and guided me toward the regal palace that loomed in the distance. The entire walk back we talked like happily about everything that our letters hadn’t been able to say. Throughout the week that I was there, we spent late nights with one another, some where we fell asleep in the Queen’s chambers with her lovers. 

Seven days that I had feared would be long and tedious passed faster than I had imagined possible, and then all of the sudden, our final night was upon us. That night I went to the Queen’s chambers where she was waiting for me. Alone.

Tonight she had dressed me in a silk suit, which was an honor because only the Queen and her harem wore the luxurious fabric, that was a lovely shade of teal. “My lady?” She smiled mischievously at my obvious confusion and motioned me to her side. 

“”It is just us tonight, Ignis. Since you clearly have no interest in my gifts.” Had her tone not been teasing I would have fallen to my knees to placate any offense I may have made. But there was a glint in her eyes that told me I was speaking with Levi and not the Queen. Each queen of Accordo was named in some form or another after the Goddess Leviathan. The current Queen’s proper name was Leviana, but to her friends she was known as Levi.

Taking my spot on the chaise lounge settled out on her balcony that oversaw the garden below, a few servants filtered in with our delicious supper and then quickly departed. “Have I truly offended you with my lack of interest?” The air across my face was something I was attempting to absorb to the best of my abilities. Salt in the air and a hint of sunshine lingering despite the late hour and dusk falling upon the jewel of the seas, I knew that I would miss this come the morrow.

And so did LEvi. Silence came over us both while she allowed me to bask in the glorious calm Altissia provided and when she was truly satisfied with my state of relaxation, she spoke up once more. “No. I am not disappointed. I am truly relieved actually.”

“Trulyy?” Running a hand through my hair with a grin, I smirked, “Why is that?”

“Because. You are a true lover.”

I laughed at her seriousness. “I must admit I have never been called that. I have taken lovers before.”

Levi plucke a piece of fruit from her plate and shook her head, “Not in that way. You will have lovers. The body and mind needs such comfort. But you are not one to frivolously throw yourself into lust. Leviathan was right to tell me that you were a child of hers.”

Well, that garnered my attention quickly. Especially considering I did not have much appreciation for the Gods considering what they were doing to my King. “Did she?”

Levi nodded, “She did. And do not think I don’t notice the hint of doubt in your voice.” There was a significant amount after all. “You see, Leviathan believes in love. Various forms and she is welcoming of numerous lovers, however, your heart shall belong to one and no other. Just that one…”

Such conviction colored her tone that I couldn’t help but get drawn into her beliefs. All of my life I felt as though I were out of place, existing for others, and not fully understanding my own purpose. So I gave up on it and decided to devote myself absolutely to others. Looking into the Queen’s eyes, for the very first time, I felt as though maybe, just maybe, I had another purpose in this life. But love?

Did I want that?

Feeling exposed and perhaps a touch vulnerable, I duck my gaze from the intensity of the Queen’s and let out a sigh that I have held all of my life. “I will admit that I do not know what to do with this information. Or your conviction. I have only ever been a servant, and few have seen who ‘Ignis’ is.” My King, my prince, and a few individuals I was fortunate enough to call friends made up that group. “And in one week you have looked inside of me and decided a future that I cannot see.”

The stories of true, or forever, loves are taught in classes all throughout high school and college in reference to the Gods, specifically Leviathan. When she found her beloved harvester, despite all of her other lovers and connections with a few special individuals, she had known that he had captured more than just her heart. Her very soul bonded to his and declared them united for eternity. Each and every life they shared from outside of the beyond, they would find one another. Now I was being told that I had one of my own…

A soul made just for me. How had I been blessed with such a gift? What had I done to impress Leviathan to the point that she felt I deserved her blessing in this world? Whatever it was I had done, I was relieved that it happened.

I didn’t realize that tears were streaming down my face until Levi reached across the space that separated us and stroked away the little droplets. Then she drew me in close and held me against her breast. “You belong in Altissia. You always will.” She whispered to me and that was the last we spoke on the matter.

But those words stayed with me when I returned home and upon each visit I made back to Accordo at the Queen’s behest. There was someone on this island, and a bigger piece of my journey on this star, that called me back. This went beyond service…

This journey had been anointed by Leviathan and painted into the story of the stars. 

Upon my second journey to the island I would receive an official blessing in the Capitol’s Shrine dedicated to Leviathan by the Queen herself. And my third trip I was taking all over the scenic country sides to explore the wonders of Accordo’s gifts and blessings that grew only on these patches of earth.

Those three voyages shaped me into the man I grew up to be and the man I want my children to be proud of. They prepared me for that first official visit at my Prince’s side to make negotiations and set in motion a future even I couldn’t have foreseen.

But most of all…

They brought me to you.


End file.
